The North American Species of Crepidotus
62. Crepidotus crocophyllus (Berk.) Sacc., Syll. Fung. 5: 886. 1887.
Agaricus crocophyllus Berk., London Jour. Bot. 6: 313. 1847.
Agaricus dorsalis Pk., N.Y. State Mus. Ann. Rept. 24: 69. 1872.
Crepidotus dorsalis (Pk.) Sacc., Syll. Fung. 5: 883. 1887.
Pileus 1-3 cm broad, sessile, flabelliform, spathulate, or suborbicular then reniform to dimidiate, pallid, yellowish, or "tawny" to "russet," with "chestnut," "cinnamon," or "orange cinnamon" fibrils or scales. Context thin, white, soft; odor mild, taste mild or often slowly bitterish.
Lamellae close, broad or medium, more rarely narrow, at first yellow, orange, "capucine orange," or "ochraceous orange," fading to more or less avellaneous, finally brownish, edges fimbriate.
Spores 4.5-7 µ, globose, at times ovoid, often some flat-sided, punctate. Basidia (20) 30-40 x 5-8 µ, 2-4-spored. Pleurocystidia none; cheilocystidia 32-53 x 5-10 (12) µ, clavate, cylindric-ventricose, at times more or less capitate. Gill trama subparallel, hyphae 6-12 µ broad. Pileus trama interwoven. Cuticle of repent hyphae, bearing a turf of both brown, incrusted, and colorless hyphae. Clamp connections present.
Habit, Habitat, and Distribution: On hardwood sticks, stumps, fallen branches, and logs, more rarely on conifer wood, Maine, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Louisiana, Michigan, Idaho, and Oregon, June-October.
Material Studied: IDAHO: Smith 66274; LOUISIANA: Lowy 1721 (TENN 22465); MAINE: Bigelow 10639, 10774 (MASS); MICHIGAN: Brooks 1249 (MICH); Deegan H-86 (MICH); Miller 195 (MICH); Potter 3396, 3420 (MICH); Shaffer 817 (MICH); Smith 7266, 9554, 18316, 20549, 21572, 33-1002,49648, 49867,51275,57860, 63535, 63573, 63576b, 66850, 66877, 66902, 66906, 66909; Thiers 2667, 2722, 2735, 3052, 3951; NEW HAMPSHIRE: Bigelow 11816,12168 (MASS); NEW YORK: Peck, type of Agaricus dorsalis, from Grieg, Sept., 1869(?); OHIO: Lea, type (NYS) of Agaricus crocophyllus, Waynesville, Sept. 4, 1844; OREGON: Smith 23940; TENNESSEE: Hesler 8077, 10795, 12539, 14236.
Observations: Apparently the color of the fresh pileus actually varies; and, moreover, authors in describing pileus colors, may have been influenced by the fibrils which ornament the surface. Comparably, the lamellae also vary in color from yellow to orange. Thus, it is understandable that Peck described dorsalis, apparently assuming it was different from crocophyllus; or, he may not have known of the binomial, C. crocophyllus. A study of the types of crocophyllus and dorsalis revealed no specific differences in structure. When sections of the gills are mounted in 2% KOH, they usually become orange-yellow in color.